Berlin's much-delayed 'ghost airport' plans expansion

BERLIN — It hasn't handled a single passenger yet, but Berlin's much-delayed airport is already planning to grow.

Airport operators say they'll build an additional terminal to handle up to 28 million passengers when Berlin Brandenburg Airport is scheduled to open in October 2020.

The new airport has defied all clichés of German efficiency: it was meant to open in 2011, but construction problems and technical delays saw the date pushed back repeatedly, leaving the German capital reliant on two small and aging Cold War-era airports.

The only thing that's taken off so far has been its projected cost, from 2 billion euros in 2006 to 5.3 billion euros ($6.36 billion) currently.

A spokesman for the airport, Hannes Hoenemann, said Thursday the new terminal will cost a mere 100 million euros.